Page 2 of Hit of Betrayal

When I saw her, she took my breath away. The file had her picture, so I knew she was beautiful. But I wasn’t prepared for how she made me feel. I almost felt like I wasn’t worthy to be in her presence, that was how she shined. But then I remembered that I had a job to do.

She had quickly invited me to her apartment when I refused to call an ambulance, which made me question if it was a trap. I hadn’t thought that an ambush could be possible. But when she insisted that no one was in her apartment, I believed her. I had just hoped my judgment wasn’t off.

I hobbled behind her, playing it up mostly, as we walked to her building. I was thankful that her apartment was on the first floor, which I was already aware of. She seemed nervous around me and I wondered if she knew who I was and was just playing me.

I had worked for the Zoria family for just a few months. I was new to this profession, but I had already proven myself. I stayed in the shadows like a good hitman did. No one knew I existed in the family except my boss and his son, the one who had hired me for this job.

Georgia pulled her keys from her purse and unlocked her door. She went in first and then held the door open for me. I continued to play the hurt victim, but also readied myself for a surprise attack. One that never came.

I was greeted with the smell of raspberries and a small and tidy apartment. Once I was fully inside she shut the door but didn’t lock it. That showed me she wasn’t much on security. I made note of that in case I had to come back if this plan of mine went south. I wasn’t asneak into the residence in the middle of the night and ambush the targetsort of man. I made it a bit of a game. I guess I enjoyed the chase.

“The kitchen is to the left. I am going to grab my medical kit.” She pointed toward the entryway to a small kitchen and then disappeared to my right into a bedroom, leaving the door open. Curiosity had me poking my head into her room. Suddenly, she was in front of me with a scowl on her face. “You are a guest in my home. Respect my privacy please.”

“S-s-sorry,” I stuttered. I hadn’t heard her approach me. I reprimanded myself internally to get it together, I had a job to do.

I had gotten her to let me in the apartment. Now, I needed to take care of her and then alert my boss once it was done so he could retrieve the blackmail. That was one thing I never did, take any of the evidence. Sure I committed the crime of murder but never had anything on my person that could implicate me. I went in, did my deed, staged the scene, and was gone.

I entered the small kitchen with black countertops and a white tiled floor. Everything was clean and in its correct place. There weren't any dishes in the sink and I could smell something cooking in a crockpot, pot roast I guessed. I saw a square table for four in the corner and took a seat with my back against the wall.

A few minutes later, she entered the kitchen holding a white box with a red first aid cross on the front. “This should be enough to get your wound cleaned and stitched up.”

I heard the wordstitchedand my eyes went wide. I considered myself a tough man, but I didn’t like needles. When I had stabbed myself, I thought it could be just bandaged up. I didn’t go deep with the blade. Granted, I wasn’t a doctor, and remarkably I hadn’t been hurt in my line of work to the point I needed major medical care, yet. “I’m sure just a bandage will be fine.”

She shook her head. “It has to be stitched closed so that it doesn’t become infected.” She looked at me, reading my face. “Are you scared of the needle?”

“Don’t be absurd. I am not a child,” I rolled my eyes and turned away from her, trying to hide the truth. I was regretting my plan.

She grabbed a chair from the table and placed it facing me. Setting the white box on the table, she sat down. She opened up the box and I saw an assortment of medical supplies, one of them being a needle in a sealed package. “Don’t worry,” she patted my leg in reassurance. “You’ll be fine and I might even give you a sucker after.” Her tone was teasing, but flirtatious.

I rolled my eyes, trying to hide my smirk. I thought it was too bad I had to kill this woman.

Chapter Two

Georgia

I couldn’t believe that I had a stranger in my kitchen. I thought I had to be crazy, that was the only logical explanation. I guessed I hadn’t learned anything from all the stranger danger lectures I received in school. There had been something about this man when I looked into his eyes in the alley that made me want to help him.

The next part that I couldn’t believe, was how he reacted to finding out I had to stitch him up with a needle. His wound wasn’t big. It looked like he wasn’t stabbed too deep, which is what I had assumed happened. I didn’t know for sure, and I didn’t want to know. The fact that he was probably attacked was another red flag. Again, something in me had to help him.

“This will be over soon.” I prepped my tools and went to work fixing him up. As I was doing so, I tried to distract him. “What were you doing in the alley?”

“The usual.” That was his reply. That was it.

“Well, I don’t know many people who hang out in the alley. Especially ones who end up stabbed.”

“How do you know that I was stabbed?” He eyed me suspiciously.

“It was a guess. The cut looks like it was done with a knife.”

“It was nothing.” He didn’t explain further.

“What’s your name?” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t asked him his name before I let him into my home. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me.

“Jerad,” he responded. The name sounded made up to me but I figured I wasn’t anamesexpert.

“I’m Georgia. Nice to meet you.” I smiled at him and he returned it.

“Thank you for helping me,” he finally said after a few seconds of silence.

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